Oct. 26, 2005
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn men and women's cross country teams begin postseason play Saturday, Oct. 29 at the SEC Championships in Columbia, S.C. The meet will begin with the men's 8K at 8:30 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 9:30 a.m. The meet will be held at Hilton Field at the Fort Jackson Military Base and will be hosted by South Carolina. The men's field features 11 schools, while the women's field has 12.
Making History
Senior Angela Homan will be bidding to become the first three-time SEC Champion in conference history. Homan won the meet in her sophomore and junior seasons, while finishing 18th as a freshman. By winning the titles the past two years, Homan became one of only four women in SEC history to win back-to-back titles. Homan has also been selected as the SEC Female Athlete of the Year the past two seasons.
Top Shelf
The Auburn women's program has been extremely successful at the SEC Championships the past three seasons. Each year, the women's team has finished in the top half of the 12-team SEC. In 2002, the Tigers placed fourth, while in 2003 Auburn placed sixth. Last year, the Tigers finished fifth.
Setting the Tone
The women's team may have more consecutive seasons of success at the SEC Championships, but the men have their eyes on starting their own streak. The Tigers will be looking to parlay last year's fourth-place finish into another top five. Returning off last year's lineup at the SEC Championships are five of seven runners.
The Lineup
In terms of experience, head coach Peter Watson will take two contrasting teams to the SEC Championships. The men's team takes a veteran lineup of four seniors, two juniors and two sophomores, while the women's lineup is young and is comprised of two seniors, two juniors and four sophomores. The men's lineup consists of seniors Andrew Heath, Clay Askew, Joey Giattino and Matt Tillman, juniors Patrick Mouser and Patrick Philbin and sophomores Chris Walsh and Jordan Davis. The women's lineup features seniors Angela Homan and Dawn Morgan, juniors Denise Daughenbaugh and Alayne Thompson and sophomores Becca Bell, Megan Karl, Jessica Smith and Laura Steele.The top seven from the men's lineup has been the same every race, earning three top-four finishes.
The Field
All 12 institutions of the SEC have both a men and women's cross country program with the exception of South Carolina, who only has women's cross country. Of the 12 women's teams, three are ranked in the FinishLynx poll released on Oct. 17. The ranked teams are No. 17 Arkansas, No. 21 Tennessee and No. 28 Georgia. On the men's side, two of the 11 teams are ranked in the USCCCA poll released on Oct. 18. The ranked teams are No. 1 Arkansas and No. 20 Alabama.
Last Time Out
In preparation for the SEC Championships, Watson canceled the Tigers original plans to compete at last weekend's Coach "O" Invitational. Instead the Tigers spent the week training for the championships. The men's team needed the break from competition after competing the past three weekends. In their last event the men finished 21st at Pre-Nationals. As for the women, they have not competed in three weeks after hosting the Auburn Invitational on Oct. 8.
Men
The men had their worst showing of the season at the Pre-Nationals, as they finished 21st in the 34-team field. The meet, which was held on the same course as the NCAA Championships, had 14 ranked teams. The men earned 534 points in the meet and were led by sophomore Chris Walsh (92nd, 25:09). Senior Andrew Heath was the second Tiger across the line, finishing 98th (25:13). The finish snapped the Tigers streak of eight straight finishes in the top four. Colorado won the team title with 70 points, while Liberty's Josh Mcdougal won the individual title (23:12.6).
Women
The women placed 14th in the 23-team field with 142 points at the Auburn Invitational. Senior Angela Homan led the Tigers, with a fourth-place finish. Homan finished in a time of 16:56.60. Senior Dawn Morgan was the second Tiger across the line, placing 71st in a time of 18:46.00. Samford won the team title with 86 points, while Tennessee-Chattanooga's Shannon Wommack won the individual crown in a time of 16:20.57.
Auburn vs. the SEC
In four regular season events, Auburn has not seen much of the SEC in competition. Overall the men have faced Florida, LSU, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. The women have competed against Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
Top Times
Compared with the rest of the conference Auburn's individual times stack up well against the SEC. For the women, Angela Homan has the top time in the conference for both the 5K and 6K. Homan's time of 16:56.60 in the Auburn Inv. 5K is tops in the conference. In the 6K, Homan's time of 20:43.00 in the Paul Short Invitational is the best in the SEC. For the men, both Chris Walsh and Andrew Heath rank in the top six for their times in the 8K at the Auburn Invitational. Walsh is fifth in the conference with a time of 24:03.71 and Heath is sixth with a time of 24:04.54.
One-Two Punch
Andrew Heath and Chris Walsh have been the top finishers for the men in all four races this season. Last year, the duo finished first and second for the Tigers in three of five meets. This season, Heath has placed second, 10th, sixth and 98th, while Walsh has finished fourth, 19th, fifth and 92nd.
Long Road to the Top
The majority of women's meets during the regular season are 5Ks, which makes the SEC Championships being a 6K such an unknown. Auburn has competed in only one 6K this season - the Paul Short Inv. At the Paul Short Inv., the Tigers placed 28th (712 points).
Outdistancing Opponents
One Tiger who excels at longer distances is Angela Homan. Homan has won four of her 11 6K races and she has placed in the top 10 in eight of the 11 races.
Making His Mark
Andrew Heath began his senior campaign on a torrid pace. In three meets, Heath has garnered three top-10 finishes and set a new personal record twice. He opened the season at the Florida State Inv., where he placed second. The Marietta, Ga., native followed up his second-place finish by setting a new personal record in the 8K at the Paul Short Inv. Heath finished in a time of 24:10.1, while placing 10th. At the Auburn Inv., Heath once again set a new personal record, as he placed sixth in a time of 24:04.54.
Poll Watching
The last poll to be released by the United State Cross Country Coaches of America (USCCCA) was on Oct. 18 In the poll, the men's team remained fifth in the South Region. The women's team is not currently ranked.
New Era
Peter Watson begins his first season as the coach of the cross country program. Watson takes over for former coach Chris Fox, who was hired as the head track and field coach at Syracuse after three seasons at Auburn. Watson is a 2001 graduate of West Virginia, where he was a four-year letterman on both the track and cross country teams. A native of London, Ontario, Canada, Watson participated in the 2000 and 2001 Canadian National Track and Field Championships. Prior to coming to Auburn, Watson ran professionally, while training in Boulder, Colorado, and Kenya, Africa.
On the Move
The SEC Championships were originally slated to be held in Baton Rouge, La., but due to the on-going relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina, the SEC decided that it would be in the best interest of everyone to move the event. South Carolina was selected as the new location for the event.
Homan's a Hit
Although Angela Homan isn't winning every race like last season, she is still turning in top-10 finishes every time out. In the three meets this fall, Homan has placed first, seventh and fourth. Homan opened the year with a win at the Florida State Inv. Homan's win was the ninth of her career and at the time was her fifth regular season win in a row. In all, Homan has won six of her last 10 events and eight of her last 14. In 2004, Homan won every race leading up to the NCAA Championships, where she placed ninth. Homan entered the 2005 season as the back-to-back SEC Champion and two-time All-American. Homan has also been selected as the SEC Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year for two consecutive seasons. This season, Homan is bidding to become the first three-time SEC Champion.